An audio system for an aircraft of the type which includes radiocommunications units and a management unit to which are connected by cables, pieces of audio equipment. Each audio equipment piece includes a generator which, under control of the control unit, is configured to generate a pulsed coded audio signal and inject the signal into a same cable as that used for conveying the audio signals coming from the audio unit of the audio equipment, each code formed by a pulsed coded audio signal being representative of a piece of audio equipment. The audio system includes a decoder for receiving and decoding a coded audio signal generated by a piece of audio equipment and for generating a logic control signal to activate the radiocommunications unit which has previously been associated with the audio equipment represented by the code of the coded audio signal received and decoded.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. An audio system for an aircraft, comprising: a management unit to which are connected, by cables, at least one piece of audio equipment and at least one radiocommunications unit; each piece of audio equipment comprising an audio unit for generating audio signals and a control unit; wherein each piece of audio equipment comprises a generator which, under control of the control unit, is configured to generate a pulsed coded audio signal and to inject the signal into a same cable as that used for conveying the audio signals coming from the audio unit of the audio equipment, each code formed by a pulsed coded audio signal being representative of a piece of audio equipment; and wherein the audio system comprises a decoder which, on reception of a coded audio signal generated by a piece of audio equipment, is configured to decode the coded audio signal and generate a logic control signal to activate the radiocommunications unit which has previously been associated with the audio equipment represented by the code of the coded audio signal received and decoded.
An audio system for an aircraft connects audio equipment (like music players or intercoms) and radio communication units (like radios) to a central management unit using cables. Each audio equipment piece has a generator that creates a coded audio signal when instructed by its control unit. This coded signal, which uniquely identifies the audio equipment, is sent through the same cable as the regular audio from that equipment. The system also has a decoder. When the decoder receives a coded signal, it figures out which audio equipment sent it and activates the radio communication unit that's been previously linked to that specific audio equipment.
2. The audio system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a pulsed coded audio signal is constituted by at least one fundamental audio signal of predetermined frequency from among a set of different frequencies transmitted over a predetermined duration.
The audio system described where the coded audio signal is made up of at least one basic audio tone with a specific frequency. The system picks the frequency from a predefined set of different frequencies and transmits it for a set amount of time. So, each piece of audio equipment sends a specific frequency (or frequencies) for a specific duration to identify itself, and that is used to activate a corresponding radio communication unit connected by cables to the central management unit.
3. The audio system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a pulsed coded audio signal is constituted by a sequence of several combinations of a number of fundamental audio signals of different frequencies transmitted simultaneously for each combination over a predetermined duration.
The audio system described where the coded audio signal is a sequence of combinations. Each combination includes several basic audio tones of different frequencies played at the same time for a short period. So, instead of just one frequency at a time, multiple frequencies are combined and sent in a specific order to identify each audio equipment piece. This coded signal is then used to activate a corresponding radio communication unit connected by cables to the central management unit.
4. The audio system as claimed in claim 3 , wherein each fundamental audio signal corresponds to a symbol belonging to an alphabet, and each combination of fundamental audio signals corresponds to a word and each sequence of combinations of fundamental audio signals corresponds to a code word, each code word corresponding to a specified piece of audio equipment or to a particular action of a specified piece of audio equipment.
The audio system described uses a coded audio signal comprised of a sequence of frequency combinations. Each individual frequency within a combination represents a "symbol" (like a letter), and each frequency combination represents a "word." The entire sequence of "words" (frequency combinations) then becomes a "code word." Each unique "code word" corresponds to a specific piece of audio equipment or even a specific action performed by that equipment. This coded audio signal is used to activate a corresponding radio communication unit connected by cables to the central management unit.
5. The audio system as claimed in claim 3 , wherein a pulsed coded audio signal comprises a sequence of two combinations of two fundamental audio signals having different frequencies transmitted simultaneously for each combination over a predetermined duration.
The audio system described uses a coded audio signal comprised of a sequence containing only two frequency combinations. Each of those two combinations contains exactly two different frequencies played simultaneously for a set duration. Therefore, to identify the equipment and activate a corresponding radio communication unit connected by cables to the central management unit, each audio device would send two combined tones, followed by another two combined tones in a sequence.
6. The audio system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the decoder is a selective calling system and a code word corresponding to a specified piece of audio equipment or to a particular action of a piece of audio equipment comprises a same symbol in each combination of the same sequence forming the code word.
The audio system described uses a selective calling decoder. The coded audio signal includes a sequence of two frequency combinations, each having two frequencies. A particular piece of audio equipment is identified by a code word where each combination in the sequence contains the same symbol (i.e., one frequency is present in each of the two frequency combinations that make up the sequence). This sequence identifies the audio equipment to activate the corresponding radio communication unit connected by cables to the central management unit.
7. The audio system as claimed in claim 3 , wherein each combination of fundamental audio signals corresponds to a symbol belonging to an alphabet and in that each sequence of combinations of fundamental audio signals corresponds to a code word, each code word corresponding to a specified piece of audio equipment or to a particular action of a specified piece of audio equipment.
The audio system described encodes its signals such that each combination of audio frequencies is considered a symbol from an alphabet. A sequence of these combinations forms a "code word." Each unique code word corresponds to a specific piece of audio equipment or a specific action performed by the equipment. This coded audio signal comprised of frequency combinations is used to activate a corresponding radio communication unit connected by cables to the central management unit.
8. The audio system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a duration of the pulsed coded audio signals is less than 100 ms.
The audio system described transmits the coded audio signal in very short bursts: the duration of the pulsed coded audio signal is less than 100 milliseconds. This short duration enables fast equipment identification, minimizing the delay before the appropriate radio communication unit connected by cables to the central management unit is activated in response to the signal.
9. The audio system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the management unit comprises the decoder.
The audio system's central management unit contains the decoder. This means the decoder, which interprets the coded audio signals sent by the audio equipment to activate the correct radio communication unit, is built directly into the main control box connected by cables. Therefore no separate decoder is needed.
10. The audio system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising a plurality of decoders each associated with a respective radiocommunications unit of a plurality of radiocommunications units.
The audio system contains multiple decoders, and each radio communication unit is paired with its own dedicated decoder. This arrangement allows multiple audio devices to independently activate different radio units simultaneously, without any signal interference. All connected by cables to the central management unit.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
February 29, 2016
July 18, 2017
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